Ashley Ennis
Dr. L. Butts
English 1102
5 March 2014

Johnathon Young and the Three Little Pigs
The Story of the Three Little Pigs by Joseph Jacobs is a classic fairy tale that is told to many, young and old. It is about three pigs who build their homes, only to be faced with a wolf. The first pig builds his house out of straw, which is unable to withstand the power of the wolf and is eaten. The second pig builds his house out of furze. His house too cannot withstand the power of the wolf and endures the same fate as the first. The third pig’s fate is rather different. He builds his house out of bricks, which withstands the strength of the wolf. The wolf pursues the pig three more times but is unable to outwit him. On the third attempt the pig tricks the wolf into falling in a pot of boiling water and eats him. This story is read and analyzed by many. Johnathon Young’s definition of a fairy tale fits this tale best. The Three Little Pigs has three of Young’s components; animals with human qualities, relatable characters, and connectedness to real life situations.
The Three Little pigs is full of animal characters that have human qualities. The pigs and the wolf walk, talk, and are able to build homes of items that human’s use. Which of course, is unlike normal everyday animals. According to young, “A talking animal in a story is usually a voice of nature (Young 2).” This statement means that the animals are directly connected to nature. This also connects people to the fact that we are not only part of nature, “We are nature (Young 2).” Young also discusses this, “Among other messages we are being reminded that we are also animals. We are walking around in animal flesh (Young 2)”. People need this reminder because everyone is entirely plagued with modern technology and other aspects of life that we, as people, forget where we originate.
One should be able to relate there self to a character in the story. Young says, “If we take a tale as a reflection of the inner landscape, we see that all the characters can represent aspects of our own personalities (Young 1).” One could be connected to the cunningly witty third pig or the wickedness of the wolf. The first two pig’s personalities aren’t as represented as the wolf and the third pig because they get eaten rather quickly in this tale. In Young’s definition, he delves on the idea of connecting to a wicked character such as a wolf. He says,” Sinister or wicked characters may represent aspects of ourselves that have been neglected or rejected (Young 2).” There are people who embody their sinister sides and those who do not. It is not that some people have this character trait and some do not; it is instilled in all people. Only some choose to show it. Young goes on to say, “We are not to exclude that from how we define ourselves. Ultimately, inclusion is the goal. The challenge is to integrate these elements into identity in a constructive manner (Young 2).” This being said, those that embrace these sides of themselves need to find a balance between, you might say, good and evil. Those that do not embrace their sinister side, need to integrate it into their character. Jacobs shows this integration in the third pig. We first see this in the wolf’s third pursuance of the third pig. When he rolls down the hill in the butter churn, he frightened the wolf, when the wolf tells him so the third pig says, “hah, I frightened you, then (Jacobs 3)”. After this the wolf is tricked a third and final time and is cooked and eaten by the pig. This is a sinister side of the pig that he has integrated into his character. Although this is not a direct definition of Young’s, it shows readers how one could delve into their sinister side and integrate it into their personality.
Young says, “The adventures these stories describe often reflect